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"A loving mother's... sword???"
Shen Tang was bewildered. Was it definitely a sword and not a thread? And the second half of the sentence was "to cleave the wandering son"! This "loving mother" was poisonous. If the first line was somewhat understandable—after all, encountering a son who causes trouble for his mother, even the kindest mother would be pushed to anger; otherwise, where would the saying "a filial child comes from the stick" come from?—the next line was enough to shock her for an entire year!
[Eighteen times a second, every sword strike a critical hit.]
Shen Tang's first reaction was—
Is the "wandering son" dead yet?
Could such an inappropriate horror story truly break the deadlock??? She doubted her own intuition.
Equally incredulous was the officer leader, who had been brutally dragged off his horse by Shen Tang—he was actually pulled off his warhorse by a ten-year-old exiled prisoner! At the same time, genuine killing intent arose within him. If he didn't kill this Gong bandit today, it would surely become a future problem! Adhering to the principle of "still as a mountain, moving like thunder," he suddenly channeled strength into his arm, retracted the gripped spearhead, and then, with lightning speed, thrust it out again, aiming directly for Shen Tang's left eye.
Who knew—
The expected piercing of the skull by the spearhead did not occur. Instead, it met with a resistance that almost numbed his tiger's mouth (the web between thumb and index finger).
Clang!
The spearhead and sword blade met. It was an ancient sword, unadorned in design but gleaming brightly, faintly resonating with the cries of dragons and tigers. And the wielder of the sword was none other than Shen Tang! Seeing this, the officer leader's pupils trembled slightly. The two struggled for dominance, locked in a stalemate.
This gave Shen Tang a moment to breathe. In this short time, she didn't know whether to complain that "a loving mother's sword" could actually conjure a sword, or to pity herself for receiving a blade with her bare hands—as an artist dedicated to her craft, in her mind, her hands were definitely a more important body part than her brain! Earlier, in a fit of uncontrollable anger, she had actually used her precious right hand to grab the spearhead. Fortunately, no bones were injured; otherwise, if she could never again pick up a paintbrush, what joy would there be in this life? As for the person who injured her right hand—
Shen Tang's eyes turned cold. Today, she, this "loving mother," would give this overgrown child a good lesson!
Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, Shen Tang shifted her footwork. The gleaming sword grazed the halberd, instantly closing the distance. At the same time, she silently recited the depraved latter half of the verse—
[Eighteen times a second, every sword strike a critical hit.]
The moment she struck with her sword, an invisible yet powerful force gathered from her danfu to her right hand. This not only made the considerably weighty longsword in her hand feel light as a feather, but her arm also seemed to be equipped with eighteen super motors, causing every sword strike to leave afterimages of the blade. It was indeed "every sword strike a critical hit." Originally, she could only strike once; now she could strike eighteen times, each blow aimed directly at a vital point! Sword shadows and sword gleams intertwined into a net. Logically, this should have turned the officer leader's head into a pincushion, but this world was so utterly without martial ethics or scientific sense—
He crossed his arms in front of him, using hardened black metal bracers he had condensed, and simply withstood all eighteen sword strikes. Completely unharmed!
No, one couldn't say completely unharmed. At least his hair crown and topknot were gone. Seeing this, Shen Tang almost cursed out loud. Can this world get any better? If a third-rank Zanniao was this troublesome, wouldn't a twentieth-rank Chehou just ascend to heaven on the spot?
The officer leader's expression grew more focused, his brows deepening with gravity. When Shen Tang's speed slowed slightly, he seized the opportunity to strike, throwing a punch that released a red fist shadow. Shen Tang dodged in time, and the fist shadow slammed into the ground, creating a large crater. Flying dust obscured her vision. When she could see clearly again, a gleaming saber was descending upon her head. She could only parry with her sword, and under the immense pressure, she slightly bent her knees, lowered her center of gravity, and forcibly withstood the blow. The clanging roar of colliding blades made her ears ring with phantom sounds.
The officer leader: "I underestimated you!"
His momentum was furious, pressing relentlessly. After a round of grappling, both sides were heavily depleted, but he still hadn't captured the prisoner. Shen Tang's breathing was slightly disordered, and a thin layer of sweat unconsciously beaded on her forehead. One should know that a third-rank Zanniao's strength was two to three times that of a low-ranking Gongshi. Every time the officer leader swung his saber, he put all his strength into it, aiming to split her in half. She suspected her arm was teetering on the brink of being useless. Because the pain was intense, her mood was particularly foul.
"Hmph, it's clearly me who overestimated you."
If you can't do it, you can't do it. Why act tough and say 'I underestimated you'...
Just running your mouth!
"However, it ends here—" The officer leader was unaffected by Shen Tang's provocation. He put away his angry expression, swiftly advanced with his saber drawn, but stopped about a zhang (3.3 meters) in front of her, his thick eyebrows furrowed. He shouted loudly at the empty space.
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
Shen Tang's heart seized in alarm, her back chilling. There's someone else nearby? Just then, a magnetic, low male voice rolled into her ears. She heard the man say unhurriedly, "Teeth are hard and fall first, the tongue is soft and endures. The soft can overcome the hard, and the weak can defeat the strong."
The officer leader's face turned ashen after hearing this.
As the voice faded, a black and white calligraphy scroll unfurled beneath Shen Tang's feet. The characters flew out, one by one, merging into her body. Immediately, she was fully restored to health! Her arm no longer hurt, her breathing was no longer ragged, and all her expended strength returned. No, even more than that! She had a premonition that her next sword strike wouldn't be eighteen, but thirty-six!
This was clearly a friendly! Could this be the belated newbie benefit for transmigrators? Seeing Shen Tang's aura quickly recover, the officer leader felt like cursing. He gritted his back teeth, almost gnawing them.
"Obstructing official duties, a crime punishable by death!"
The man jested, "Then why don't you try to execute one, so I can see?"
The officer leader was still unwilling to give up: "The Gong clan acted contrary to the natural order. Are you not afraid of inviting trouble by siding with the Gong bandits?"
"I know better than you why the Gong clan was raided and exterminated. Who the bandit is remains to be seen." The officer leader knew at once that he had no chance. If he continued to entangle, he would probably face Shen Tang and the hidden man combined, and his life would be forfeit! Reluctantly, he could only withdraw his saber, retreating three to five zhang from Shen Tang before unwillingly riding away on his horse.
Almost simultaneously, the calligraphy scroll beneath Shen Tang's feet dissipated. With its disappearance, Shen Tang, who had just been full of vigor, returned to her previous state.
Shen Tang: "..." This buff's duration is too short, isn't it?
The crisis was over. She sat down on the ground, adjusting her breathing, looking at her hands in disbelief—she had actually survived a hellish start, even getting a newbie protection period bonus, and saving her own life...
Great misfortune avoided, great fortune surely to follow!
Wiping away the hot sweat, Shen Tang looked up to see a slender young man with pale lips emerging from behind the trees. She quickly scrambled to her feet and thanked him, "Thank you, sir, for saving my life."
The young man looked at Shen Tang, scrutinizing her with narrowed eyes for a moment, then said indifferently, "No need for thanks. If he hadn't discovered my tracks and called out, solely based on you being a male descendant of the Gong clan, I wouldn't have saved you, and might even have killed you."
Shen Tang: "..."
The smile on her lips gradually froze. Escaped the tiger's den only to enter the wolf's lair???